DeepSeek R1 vs GPT-4.1
At a Glance
| Compare |  DeepSeek R1DeepSeek |  GPT-4.1OpenAI |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence, Cost, and Efficiency | ||
| IntelligenceHigher is better · MM Intelligence v2.5 | UnrankedNot in the 46-model eligible cohort | #44 of 463.7 score · 2/3 sources · provisional · missing LiveBench · full-core range 2.5–35.8 |
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.70Openrouter ↗ · Aug 28, 2026 | $1.00Openrouter ↗ · Sep 3, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $2.50Openrouter ↗ · Aug 28, 2026 | $4.00Openrouter ↗ · Sep 3, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 164K | 1,048K |
| Model facts checked | Aug 28, 2026View model evidence → | Aug 29, 2026View model evidence → |
Token prices are the lowest available sourced USD rates; input and output may use different providers. Cost ranking estimates output spend on LiveBench, not a full request bill. Ranking methodology →
Available Benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek-R1 | GPT-4.1 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · leader | 1,372.6099% of row best · rating · deepseek-r1; 95% CI [1367.75270193, 1377.44238946]; votes 18524; rank 168 | 1,382.77100% of row best · rating · gpt-4.1-2025-04-14; 95% CI [1379.06025569, 1386.47352582]; votes 49941; rank 157 |
| Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above | 0 benchmark winsNo overall winner | 1 benchmark winNo overall winner |
Third-party benchmark Only like-for-like primary-publisher results are shown; raw scores, relative scores, configuration, and token spend remain visible.
Side-by-Side Facts
| Field | DeepSeek-R1 | GPT-4.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | DeepSeek | OpenAI |
| Family | Deepseek R1 | Gpt 4 1 |
| Model | DeepSeek-R1 | GPT-4.1 |
| Version | DeepSeek-R1 | GPT-4.1 |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2025-01-20 | Unknown |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | 2024-06-01 |
| Input modalities | Text | Text, Image |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 164K | 1,048K |
| Total parameters | 684.5B | Unknown |
| Active parameters | 37B | Unknown |
| License | mit | Unknown |
| Open weights | Yes | No |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | No |
| Provider access | Hugging Face (Standard), Openrouter (Standard) | Openai (Standard), Openrouter (Standard) |
| Capabilities | chat, generation, reasoning | chat, generation, tools |
DeepSeek R1 Capabilities
GPT-4.1 Capabilities
Related Comparisons
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|---|---|---|---|
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DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | vs | DeepSeek-V4.1-FlashDeepSeek | family variantstext |
DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | vs | Grok 4.6xAI | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | vs |  Qwen3.8-MaxQwen | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | vs |  Kimi-K3Moonshot AI | cross-developer peerstext |
 MiniMax-M3MiniMax | vs | DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | vs |  GLM-5.3Z.ai | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | vs |  Hy4 previewTencent | cross-developer peerstext |
Seed 2.1 ProByteDance Seed | vs | DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | vs |  Mistral Large 3Mistral AI | cross-developer peerstext |
Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
DeepSeek R1 vs GPT-4.1 FAQs
Is DeepSeek R1 or GPT-4.1 better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both DeepSeek R1 and GPT-4.1, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek R1 or GPT-4.1?+
DeepSeek R1 is $0.70 and GPT-4.1 is $1.00 per million tokens, so DeepSeek R1 is cheaper on this metric. DeepSeek R1 is $2.50 and GPT-4.1 is $4.00 per million tokens, so DeepSeek R1 is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, DeepSeek R1 or GPT-4.1?+
GPT-4.1 has the larger sourced context window. DeepSeek R1 supports 164K and GPT-4.1 supports 1,048K.
Which performs better in benchmarks, DeepSeek R1 or GPT-4.1?+
There is no overall benchmark winner: At least two independently verified, protocol-matched benchmarks are required for an overall winner.
Can DeepSeek R1 or GPT-4.1 be self-hosted?+
DeepSeek R1 is the only model in this pair currently marked as self-hostable. DeepSeek R1 is open weight; GPT-4.1 is not marked open weight.
Can DeepSeek R1 and GPT-4.1 understand images?+
DeepSeek R1 is not documented with image input; GPT-4.1 is documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, DeepSeek R1 or GPT-4.1?+
Neither has a larger sourced maximum output. DeepSeek R1 is 33K and GPT-4.1 is 33K.
Do DeepSeek R1 and GPT-4.1 support reasoning and tool use?+
DeepSeek R1: reasoning. GPT-4.1: tool calling and image input. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, DeepSeek R1 or GPT-4.1?+
DeepSeek R1 has 2 sourced provider routes; GPT-4.1 has 2, a tie.
Which offers better value, DeepSeek R1 or GPT-4.1?+
There is no universal value winner. Compare the input and output prices above with the matched benchmark result for your workload: cheaper tokens can be offset by different quality, token usage, latency, or provider availability.